Nepal plane crash: Rescue and search operation halted, to resume on Monday

The 300-metre-deep gorge is considered dangerous for venturing because of the steep cliffs on its both sides.

Kathmandu, Jan 15: The rescue and search operation in the Nepal passenger plane accident which crashed into a river gorge on Sunday with 72 people onboard, has been halted and will resume on Monday.

At least 68 people were killed when Yeti Airlines' 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft with 72 people onboard, 68 passengers and four crew members, including five Indians, crashed on the bank of the Seti River in central Nepal's resort city of Pokhara.

The ill-fated Yeti Airlines' 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am for the 25-minute journey and crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport in Pokhara, minutes before landing, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.

The plane fell into the Seti River gorge. The 300-metre-deep gorge is considered dangerous for venturing because of the steep cliffs on its both sides. The river that flows deep down the gorge is not easily visible from above. At least 32 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage site.

According to officials, the rescue and search operation has been halted for Sunday and will resume on Monday. Identification of the bodies of those who died in the crash will start only after all the bodies have been collected, My Republica website reported.

All flights regular scheduled for Monday have been cancelled. According to the airlines, only emergency and rescue flights will operate on Monday. "In mourning for the passengers who lost their lives in the accident of Yeti Airlines 9N-ANC ATR-72 500, we would like to inform you that all regular flights of Yeti Airlines for 16th January 2023 have been cancelled.

However, emergency and rescue flights will resume," Yeti Airlines tweeted. Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, has a history of air crashes. According to the Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety, there have been 42 fatal plane crashes in Nepal since 1946. Sunday's crash is Nepal's deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it crashed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exoressed his pain over the plane crash. He tweeted, "Pained by the tragic air crash in Nepal in which precious lives have been lost, including Indian nationals. In this hour of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families."